1/48 Hasegawa A-4E/F

by Jason Wolfe

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The A-4 Skyhawk proved a great success as a light bomber over North Vietnam for both the Navy and USMC. This Hasegawa model represents BU# 155010 from VA-55, the "Warhorses" aboard the USS Hancock during the 1968 WestPac cruise. VA-55 served on the Hancock from July 1968 to October 1975 on six different WestPac cruises. For some great photos, see http://www.skyhawk.org/3e/va55/va55p.htm.

I built this model for my dad, a white-shirt "troubleshooter" who worked on the flight deck of the Hancock on two WestPac cruises to the Tonkin Gulf from 1970-1972. He repaired avionics on A-4s and F-8s and recalls the long days of intense combat in Spring 1972 where planes from the Hancock were dropping 900 to 1,000 500-lb bombs per day over North Vietnam.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

I highly recommend the 1/48 Hasegawa version of the A-4E/F!  The detail in the rivet lines and landing-gear plumbing is incredible.  Hopefully I've captured that in my photographs. The pieces fit together like a charm. One note: don't spend too much time detailing the cockpit panel, since it's completely hidden beneath the instrument cover.  You'll have to shine a flashlight on it to see it.

Everything is out of the box except the decals, which are from Superscale. 

Jason

Photos and text © by Jason Wolfe